Health, fitness goal setting

Claudia Zapata, Taste columnist

Updated 12:19 am, Thursday, January 5, 2012

Who wants to get stronger in 2012? Run farther or faster, or become more flexible? And, who wants to cut back on the sweet stuff? Some of my favorite San Antonians are dishing out their latest goals and resolutions for the New Year:

Matt Bonner:﻿﻿ The San Antonio Spurs power forward and self-proclaimed sandwich guru typically shoots for the same New Year's resolution. “My go-to is, I give up sweets. I usually last about three, four weeks, and then I cave,” Bonner says. “I then start back up during Lent and try to go through Lent. It's tough because I eat a lot of sandwiches, and most sandwich shops specialize in delicious baked goods,” he says. Bonner has a new game plan for 2012, however. “I'm switching it up this year. I'm going to try to do 10 minutes of dynamic flexibility training when I get up in the morning, whether it's yoga or something else. I'm getting older in NBA years, so I want to keep myself loose,” he says. “I'll still give the sweet thing a stab, but not for New Year's.”

Most Popular

Sheryl Sculley: When she's not running the city, our city manager might be, well, running. A longtime marathoner, Sculley has no plans to slow down, but she has made a commitment to incorporate more cross-training to her exercise regimen this year. “I always just run, but I will try to mix it up a bit and do some other things that I think will be helpful in my distance running and also make it more interesting,” she says. Sculley's considering CrossFit, which she says has been a great fitness boon for some of our local firefighters.

Leslie Mouton: “Like the rest of the world, my resolutions are usually about losing weight,” says the KSAT 12 news anchor. Yet, after committing to Weight Watchers online and healthy meal preparation this past year, Mouton reports being “happy about the way I'm eating.” And she never feels deprived. “I cook from scratch five or six times a week and use more broths, fresh vegetables, herbs and spices.” So what's on the agenda for 2012? “I do the cardio, but I need to go to the gym and lift weights,” Mouton says. “I know it's important for my bone health.”

Andrew Weissman: When it comes to health and fitness, the owner and executive chef of Il Sogno and the Sandbar restaurants at the Pearl Brewery believes in paying it forward. “My goal is to continue with my (fitness) regimen but also motivate my staff,” Weissman says. “That's huge for me, because it comes back to me and helps motivate me even more.” After the chef and triathlete challenged his staff members to run in last year's San Antonio's Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, three finished the half-marathon, and another three ran the full distance. Expect to see Weissman and company back on the course in 2012. “I want to try to qualify for Boston,” he says.

Julián Castro: The San Antonio mayor says he makes New Year's resolutions “about every other year.” After giving up regular sodas in 2005 and diet sodas in 2009, Castro's next target is cutting back on drinking iced tea with sugar substitutes. Castro also wants to get back on the local marathon trail. “I ran the half (marathon) in 2010 and missed it this year, so I want to run it again in 2012,” Castro says. He hopes to be better prepared this time around. “I ran it last time without any kind of training,” he says. Eventually, the mayor says he'd like to tackle the full 26.2-mile distance.

Elf Louise: “I'm not one that just gets excited in January. I am by nature a resolutions person all year long,” says Louise Locker, a local psychotherapist and life coach and the founder of the Elf Louise Christmas project, a toy drive for the city's less fortunate kids. Locker likes seeing things in writing, so she's made a “2012 Plans, Desires, Intentions” list. It includes health goals like adding a light workout with weights, more walking and stretching, and being more mindful about meal planning and preparation that includes more vegetables. After successfully battling cancer two years ago, Locker doesn't take her body for granted. “I let my body have the loudest voice about what to do,” she says.

How about you? If you have any fitness or nutrition goals you'd like to share, drop me a note. I'd love to hear how you plan to get healthier this year.

Claudia Zapata is a registered dietitian. Her column appears in Taste every other Sunday. Email Claudia at czhealth@gmail.com and follow her at Twitter at @ClaudiaZapata.